Heiress of the pagan temples of the North
Stavkirka Borgund is far from the first Christian church in Norway, but it is the oldest one that has survived to this day in its original form. It is noteworthy that it has preserved the main features of the ancient pagan temples of the North, which were built throughout the country long before the adoption of Christianity by the Norwegians. And the place for this was not chosen by chance.
Dedicated to the memory of St. Andrew the First-Called, Stavkirka Borgund was built over an earlier Christian church, the remains of which were found under its floor, during restoration work in the early twentieth century. The first church, in turn, was built in a place where a pagan sanctuary, dedicated presumably to the goddess Freya, had been located since ancient times. In fact, there is nothing surprising in this, because the Norwegians were among the last among the Europeans to be converted to Christianity, and the new religion was initially accepted by them with hostility. Displacing the ancient faith, the Catholic Church was forced to make some concessions, turning a blind eye to many pagan traditions mixed with the teachings of Christ.
The exact time when Stavkirka was built remains unknown, but, according to historians, it happened at the time when most of the churches were built throughout the country, that is, between 1130 and 1150. There are some written sources saying that its construction began immediately after King Sigurd the Crusader returned from a campaign to the Holy Land. It was one of the hardest periods in the history of Norway, the treasury was empty, the population was groaning under the weight of taxes, and the country was devastated by the heaviest plague epidemic she had ever encountered. In this regard, the construction of Stavkirka was suspended and stopped several times, there were not enough funds or workers, but despite this, it was safely completed no later than 1150.
By the time of 1877, when Stavkirka Borgund was bought by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Monuments of Norway, it was a sad sight. Its walls were askew, the roof slopes were leaking and leaking in some places, and in some places they collapsed altogether. But restoration work began only at the beginning of the twentieth century. when it was no longer possible to delay it, the ancient monument threatened to disappear, like most churches belonging to that distant era. During the restoration, almost all the details of the stavkirka were completely replaced, very little of the original ones has been preserved, but, nevertheless, it has not changed in any way externally, neither the architecture nor the interior of the interior decoration.
Now Stavkirka Borgund, the oldest of the 28 surviving medieval churches in Norway, is a museum and a monument of ancient architecture. It is built entirely of wood, including ash, the sacred tree of the Scandinavians, who attribute it to ancient traditions, and consists of more than 2000 various details. The architectural style of Stavkirka has absorbed numerous elements of pagan architecture, including symbolic ones, this is especially pronounced in the sculptural images of dragon heads carved on the roof skates. Similar images, characteristic of pagan ideas, are found everywhere in this Christian temple. And on the doors of the western portal, even now you can see runic symbols serving as amulets, which does not fit with Christianity at all. When you join the 1xBet sportsbook, there will also be terms and conditions that have to be followed. It is important to do this as failure to do so may result in you losing out on the offer. Firstly, you will need to use the 1xbet free promo code to receive this welcome offer. If players feel like sports betting just isn’t quite cutting it for you, then there’s always the esports selection to turn to. While these sports and leagues are all running on computer simulations, they can still be truly exciting, and you can make real money wagers for a boatload of events with 1xBet.